An Ordinary Woman
by RiiyaWolf
Summary: A story of Priestess Kikyo, and the trials and burdens she endured in her life


An Ordinary Woman  
  
A young priestess walked down the grassy slope, her long hair flowing like a river   
behind her. She wore an expressionless face, disguising her true feelings. She looked   
down at the shimmering jewel in her hand; it brought back memories of the trials she had   
endured for it...  
--------------------------  
  
Even her earliest memories were filled with the burden of the Shikon Jewel. Her   
mother had been a priestess and protected the jewel before Kikyo. Although Kikyo could   
feel that her mother loved her, her mother always seemed somewhat distant, as if she had   
something pressing on her mind. As Kikyo grew older, her mother began to teach her the   
ways of a priestess. It had been hard work, taxing her physically and mentally, and took   
up most of her time. She remembered that she could no longer play with the other   
children. She had always endured it, but many times, it seemed to her, she could   
remember tuning out her mother and thought of fun things to do later...  
  
------------------------  
Her mother became pregnant. This event was joyful news to Kikyo: not only   
would she have a new sibling, but she also thought that her mother would tend to herself   
and the baby instead teaching Kikyo. Instead, however, her mother seemed only to   
enhance her training, and spending more and more time with Kikyo. Her mother seemed   
to have a sense of urgency, as if she knew that she would not live long...  
-----------------------------  
  
Kikyo had run away. Her mother had been angry at her inattention to her lessons.   
Since Kikyo knew that her mother was pregnant, she knew that her mother could not run   
after her. She ran quickly through the village to the green, grassy field where she had   
played when she was younger. She could remember through all the years when she   
would watch the children play from her window while she pretended to listen to her   
mother's dronings. The children, however, had already begun to be wary of her, for they   
knew that she was different, somehow. When she approached, they stopped their games   
and stared at her, their eyes telling her to go away, while they kept their distance. Their   
actions saddened her, and the stares were like sharp daggers in her heart. When she took   
a hopeful step towards them, they would in turn take a step back. Finally, she turned   
away, crying...  
  
-------------------------  
She ran into someone. It was a boy with light brown hair with silvery streaks,   
about her age, whom she did not know. He was slightly taller than her, with golden amber   
eyes.  
"Sumimasen!" he said, bowing politely. "I'm sorry I wasn't watching where I was   
going. He walked over to her, and helped her up, and he then noticed that she was crying.   
"What's wrong? Gomen ne!! I didn't mean to hurt you that badly!!"  
Kikyo didn't looked up at his face. "No," she sobbed out. "I'm... just..." she   
started crying again.  
The boy hugged her tight, and let her cry on his chest. When she had stopped, she   
said, "I'm just so lonely..."  
"Yes, I know the feeling. I am lonely, too..." He wore a pained expression on his   
face, and when Kikyo finally looked up, she noticed tears in his eyes, which he quickly   
wiped away.  
"How could you? How could you possibly know the loneliness that I have?" She   
pushed him away.   
"Because, I have been alone most of my life..." He looked down, and a small   
stream of tears trickled down his face. "I was orphaned when I was very young." He   
clenched his fist. "I'd do anything to get my family back, and take revenge on the ones   
that killed them..."   
"Well..." Kikyo seemed nervous. "Well, if you be my friend, I'll be your friend,   
and we won't be lonely anymore, right?"   
The boy wiped away his tears again, and he made a small smile, revealing his little   
fangs. "Yeah... I guess that would be good..."  
"I'm Kikyo. What's your name?" She held out her hand.   
Slowly and cautiously, he reached out and took it. "I'm Kino..."  
----------------------------  
  
Kikyo spent every spare moment with Kino. He would sit in a tree and tell her   
stories of his life. He would describe to her the places where he had been, and the things   
he had seen. In turn, Kikyo would tell him of the Shikon no Tama, the duties and powers   
of a priestess, and the demons that attacked, trying to steal it. Kino seemed especially   
interested in the Shikon Jewel, and loved to hear of the powers that Kikyo was learning to   
master. Soon, Kino began to help her with her archery, which she had trouble with. They   
would practice together every day, and eventually, Kikyo became a wonderful shot...  
  
-------------------------------------------------  
Kaede had been born at last. Yet even though Kikyo's mother cared for the baby,   
she always seemed to find time to teach Kikyo, and Kikyo saw Kino less. Eventually, he   
didn't come at all anymore. Kikyo cried a lot, for she thought that Kino hated her like her   
friends had. One day, a silver tiger-demon attacked, attempting to take the Shikon Jewel.   
By now, Kikyo had been used to this. Her mother would tell her to hide, and then her   
mother would ward off or kill the demon. Today, however, had been different. The   
demon seemed to be more powerful than any that Kikyo had ever seen. Although Kikyo's   
mother had been powerful, the demon seemed to know her movements, and she was   
overpowered in the end, and mortally wounded. Enraged and confused, Kikyo emerged   
from her familiar hiding place, and drew her bow. The demon had not seen the 10-year   
old girl and Kikyo's aim was perfect. Kikyo channeled her emotions into the arrow, and   
the demon was pierced in the heart. It escaped into the forest. Kikyo quickly ran to her   
mother's side.  
"Kikyo..." the dying woman said weakly. "You have become a powerful   
priestess... I know that you have gone through much, but you must know by now the   
incredible responsibility of the Shikon Jewel. Please continue my work, and purify the   
jewel... Then you can finally live the life of an ordinary woman... Watch over Kaede...."   
She died in Kikyo's arms. Tears were in her eyes, but her sadness was overwhelmed by   
another emotion: anger.  
Kikyo turned around, and followed the trial of blood the demon had left. She   
followed it to the tree where she and Kino had talked and laughed. There was no trace of   
the demon. There was only a boy there, with brown hair with silver stripes that reminded   
her of a tiger's. He had an arrow in his heart...  
----------------------  
  
Kikyo soon became hard and unfeeling. She became Kaede's surrogate mother,   
while also purifying the jewel and protecting it from those who sought it. She also   
guarded the village from danger, and watched over its inhabitants. She watched as the   
young children played with each other as she never could. She watched playmates   
become friends, and friends become lovers, while she remained perpetually alone, the   
priestess of the village and the guardian of the Shikon Jewel.   
  
  
One day, years after her mother's death, she met a certain ambitious half-demon,   
who sought the jewel as many had before him. At first, she treated him as any other being   
who sought after the jewel, and kept him away with spirit wards and enchanted arrows.   
Inuyasha tried many times to steal the jewel, but could not, because he could not have   
brought himself to harm her. Likewise, she would only shoot her arrows at the edges of   
his loose clothing, pinning him to trees without hurting him. Soon, they developed a   
rivalry, testing each other's abilities. This rivalry turned to an unspoken friendship: he   
would help her fight demons, under the premise of some selfish gain. Before they knew it,   
and before either would admit it to each other, a quiet love had developed...  
------------------------------  
  
Yesterday, Kikyo had told Inuyasha that the Shikon Jewel could make him fully   
human, and in making such pure hearted wish, the jewel would be fully purified and   
disappear, releasing its protector from its burden. Inuyasha had agreed, and they were to   
meet here, today, and he would make his wish, and hers, come true.   
  
"Inuyasha... come soon... Then I can, at last, be an ordinary woman, and be with   
you..." She looked up, and Kikyo saw him jumping from tree to tree towards her. She   
thought to herself, "Soon... an ordinary woman... with you..." She allowed herself a   
small smile and waved at her soon-to-be lover...  
  
Or soon-to-be killer...  
-------------------------------------  
  
Author's notes: And the rest, as the saying goes, is history... Well, I wrote this   
story after I found out that a lot of people on the internet do not like Kikyo. They only   
saw her as that soulless body made of dirt and bone, and think she is evil because she   
wanted to kill Inuyasha. Actually, volume 6 of the manga says that when Kagome   
awakened, she took back the soul from Kikyo, leaving Kikyo incomplete. She was only   
left with the evil thoughts and desires of the soul without the other feelings. I believe that   
Kikyo is actually a very kind person, because even though she only has evil in her soul, she   
is still tender to children (In volume 8, she is seen playing with children and teaching them   
about herbs. She even goes so far as to say that Sayo was like a little sister to her. Later   
in the manga, she feels saddened when Sayo began to be frightened of her). Deep within  
her, she still loves Inuyasha, ("Remember, Inuyasha... There was no lie in my kiss..). I   
hope this story explains Kikyo's position somewhat. E-mail me C&C, please!!! I could   
use some feedback...  
  



End file.
